Stalemate

Matt was startled at first!

Then hot tears rolled from his eyes.

Pain!

What was hurting?

His heart was hurting!

Only now did he finally understand that there was no longer any way to make Andrew turn back.

He had sunk too deep, become too mad, too deranged!!

If Andrew, when he first proposed the theories of evolution and survival of the fittest, had merely been at the budding stage—

Then now, he had grown into a tree!

His way of thinking had already taken shape.

He could no longer be changed, no longer be turned around!

When had it happened?

When he had first gained his powers?

Or that rainy day, when he accidentally killed the driver in the car behind them?

Or when he had wanted to kill his own father?

Or when he had broken with Steve and himself?

Or even earlier?

At this moment, Matt still did not know that Andrew's mother, Karen, was dead.

And Andrew had blamed Karen's death on him and Steve, as well as those police officers—even all of humanity.

Matt and Andrew were cousins. Ever since they were young, he had always wanted to take care of his younger cousin, and he cared deeply for him.

But the Andrew of the past had always been somewhat withdrawn, carrying a coldness that kept others at arm's length.

Until the four of them had obtained this mysterious power by chance.

Only then did things begin to change.

Andrew seemed to become more cheerful.

During that period, they were together every day.

Their shared secret brought them close.

But at some point, they had taken different forks in the road.

And drifted farther and farther apart.

Once good brothers, good friends, good cousins.

Today, they had become enemies locked in a fight to the death!

"Waaah!! Why?!!"

Tears and snot streamed down Matt's face.

At the same time, he threw a punch!

That punch contained all his confusion, all his rage, all his unwillingness, all his heartache, and—every bit of his love!!

One hundred percent power!

Even though his injuries had not yet healed, under the crushing pain in his heart, Matt still unleashed one hundred percent of his strength.

Blazing electric light burst from Andrew's eyes.

His expression was crazed, like a madman.

"Perfect!!"

Facing Matt's punch, he neither dodged nor retreated, likewise pushing the power within his body to its peak.

—BOOM!!

After the violent explosion, Andrew was actually sent flying!

Why?

Why was it that, despite both wielding the same power of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Volts, and despite Matt's injuries not yet having healed—

Matt could still send Andrew flying?

Because driven by extreme emotion, at the instant they clashed, Matt's current suddenly surged!

It was directly pushed to 300,000 Volts!

Andrew was caught off guard and sent flying. Agonizing pain tore through his entire body, and blood poured from his mouth and nose.

And in the direction he was flung, there happened to be an armed helicopter circling in the sky.

Bang!

This time, Matt did not step in to save him.

He watched Andrew crash the helicopter, sending a brilliant blaze erupting across the night sky.

He coldly watched the metal wreckage rain down from above.

"I told you, only I can stop him. Why did you have to make these pointless sacrifices?"

Matt looked down at Andrew, who had fallen to the ground alongside the debris.

"Andrew, surrender. If you can stop using your powers and accept a fair and just trial, you may yet keep your life.

"Otherwise, this time, I will definitely blast you out of the sky!"

Andrew roared, "Ridiculous! How can ants judge an elephant?! I'm not so easily defeated! You want to blast me down? Then come on!"

After Matt pushed his power to 300,000 Volts, he was able to completely suppress Andrew.

But this power had not come easily.

He had paid something to obtain it.

Killing intent flickered in his eyes.

For the first time, he truly wanted to kill Andrew!

Andrew was incredibly resilient. Even against Matt, who was holding nothing back, he could still remain locked in a stalemate.

During this time, the two fought fiercely, constantly shifting locations, while buildings and streets along their path were all caught in the crossfire.

After all, this world was not the Marvel world, one so frequently ravaged by disasters.

Seattle's citizens were not like New York's citizens, experienced in fleeing for their lives.

They had never faced anything like this.

For a time, civilians suffered terrible casualties in the aftermath of the two men's battle!

But Matt had already made up his mind, and he did not let this restrain him.

He had prepared himself sufficiently!

To truly stop Andrew, to keep this world from suffering even more disasters and pain.

The sacrifices before him were acceptable!

The entirety of Seattle had fallen into panic, with huge numbers of citizens desperately trying to flee the city.

In truth, although the two had caused serious destruction, only three or four blocks had been affected so far, and merely dozens of buildings destroyed.

Compared to the vast city of Seattle, it was only the tip of the iceberg.

But the panicked citizens paid no heed to that. During their flight, even massive stampedes broke out!

After today, when the Federation counted the casualties, they would likely discover that more people had died in stampedes tonight than from being caught up in the battle!

All of Seattle had become a complete mess.

The Federation's meeting was no different.

They had received reports earlier that Seattle had been attacked by super criminals.

Individuals who possessed supernatural abilities beyond the reach of ordinary people.

At first, they had not believed it. Later, they were delighted.

They had never expected superpowers to truly exist in this world!

Many of them had the same thought.

If they could capture them and study them, perhaps they could uncover the source of this power!

The military even proposed that they might be able to mass-produce super soldiers!

They still did not have a clear understanding of this power.

Not until now, when they watched the battle in Seattle through satellite feeds.

Only then did they truly realize how powerful this force was!

"Their power seems to multiply explosively at certain specific moments!"

The think tanks continuously studied and compared them using surveillance footage and available data.

"From the time they first revealed themselves until now, their power has increased by at least several times!

"If we continue to let them go on like this... Oh my God! It's simply unimaginable!"

Silence!

After a long while, one of them rose to his feet.

He looked around the room and said, "The President has ordered that, if necessary, every means may be used to eliminate these Superpowered Individuals. Take note, gentlemen—every means!"

Seattle.

The battle continued.

Andrew and Matt had been fighting for over an hour.

Countless losses had been inflicted in that time, yet their clash remained as fierce as ever.

Neither showed the slightest sign of fatigue!

Under Matt's relentless pressure, Andrew felt his own electricity growing stronger as well.

Both of them possessed incomparably steadfast convictions, even if those convictions looked utterly twisted to ordinary people.

But to them, this was the most righteous thing to do!

They also had sufficient resolve!

For their beliefs, they could sacrifice anything!

The battle had fallen into a stalemate.

It was not until someone appeared that the deadlock was finally broken!